Spring Showers
by darkcottonsim
Summary: Lucius Malfoy does not like the rain. He does not like it here, he does not like there, he does not like it in his hair. He does not like it on a broom or a train and he was pretty sure he was going insane. Cue a strange first year with cryptic messages.
**Title** : Spring Showers

 **Author** : darkcottonsim

 **Word Count** : 1k+

 **Rating** : T

 **Prompt** : Write about your chosen Death Eater being at school.

 **Warning** : None.

 **Author's Notes** : Submission #1 for the QLFC. I always liked Lucius Malfoy.

4\. (dialogue) "I really do like the pants."

9\. (emotion) Anger

12\. (class) Herbology

Summary: Lucius Malfoy does not like the rain. He does not like it here, he does not like there, he does not like it in his hair. He does not like it on a broom or a train and he was pretty sure he was going insane. Cue a strange first year with cryptic messages.

Lucius Malfoy knew the exact moment that the storm had begun. It was during Herbology at precisely twelve past noon. He'd known this because it was a habit of his to drone out the constant babbling of the Sprout creature and check his pocket watch while thinking of his latest potion work-in-progress. He had no idea why his father insisted on him taking an advanced Herbology course in his seventh year when he was sure his father had disliked the subject during his school years as much as he did. However, what he knew at the moment was that he was in a greenhouse and it was pouring just outside the charmed glass.

Lucius had always hated rain. It did nothing but ruin the soil that he had to walk across and, more importantly, ruin his hair. Of course he had always cast an Impervius charm on his uniform but everyone with half a brain knew what that did to one's hair.

But that of course didn't mean he would frolic in the rain.

Which is what someone else seemed to be doing when Lucius glanced out the glass walls. It couldn't be older than a second year by how small the figure was. Whomever it was seemed to be crouched on the ground. He caught sight of the flash of green on the figure's uniform.

'What Slytherin would ever do such a ridiculous thing?' Lucius found himself thinking.

He spent the remainder of the class looking at the strange figure fidget and move across the ground in the pouring rain. When class was dismissed, he watched his peers trample over each other to get out of the doors and towards the school as fast as they could to get out of the rain. He cast an Impervius on himself and gave a nod to Sprout before walking out.

He took a steady stride towards the figure on the ground. As he got closer he could see hair the color of night. It wasn't a second year, in fact, but a first year.

"Severus Snape?" Lucius called out to the boy who seemed to be looking for something on the ground.

The boy jumped and spun around; his widened dark eyes relaxed from recognition in an instant.

"Lucius!" the boy acknowledged, "What brings you out here?"

"I had Advanced Herbology and saw you on your hands and knees in this horrible rain," Lucius informed Severus. "I saw the Slytherin uniform and just had to come to see what would make someone come out here."

Severus nodded. "I see. Well, you don't need to worry about me, Lucius. I'm fine."

Despite himself, Lucius sputtered and crossed his arms in what he hoped was an intimidating way.

"I am not worried, child. My curiosity was simply piqued and I must know what you're doing."

It was strange looking down on the boy as he crouched on the ground-he was almost inclined to tell the boy to get up so he could have a normal conversation.

"There is a special slug that can only be caught during a spring shower. I-I was looking for it," the boy said through chattering teeth, still keeping his attention on the ground.

"You're obviously freezing. Can't you get the slug later?"

Severus shook his head stubbornly. Lucius sighed.

"I could command you to go back to the castle, you know," Lucius said using his prefect voice.

Severus just shrugged. "You could, yes. But I don't understand why you would."

"I'm a prefect of Slytherin. Is it so hard to believe I care about the well-being of my house?"

Lucius's own teeth were starting to chatter and he felt his soaked hair stick to his neck.

"So if I refuse you'll give me detention?"

"Two. One for disobeying a superior and another for ruining my hair."

Severus let out a chuckle and finally stood up to look at Lucius. Even while standing, however, the height difference was quite dramatic. Lucius could have sworn he saw a quick grimace of pain from the child when he stood but it left so quickly it could have been just his imagination.

"I suppose I can still catch some right after. The ground will still be wet enough, I suppose," Severus seemed to be talking more to himself.

"You're a first year?"

"Yes."

"I find it hard to believe."

"Well, I am."

"Are you positive?"

"Of course."

"How positive?"

"One hundred percent," Severus said in a 'Why don't you believe me' tone.

And then the cold must have hit him full force because he wrapped his arms around himself. Lucius sighed heavily before casting an Impervius at the strange. Severus looked at Lucius with a startled expression. Lucius chose to ignore it and started towards the castle.

The rain continued to pour.

Lucius stormed out of the Headmaster's office fuming with fury. 'Blasted old man. Doesn't he care at all? Why wasn't he made aware sooner?' He could feel his face heat from anger. Those thoughts raged through his head as he headed to the infirmary.

"I'm afraid Severus has been undergoing some sort of bullying from his fellow classmates."

Lucius looked at Headmaster Dumbledore's sad blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles.

"How bad is it?" Lucius didn't know why he was the one being informed in the first place. Yes, he was a Slytherin prefect but surely there must be someone else to tell.

The headmaster shook his head. "Physically, a swollen nose and a bruise on his right side. But mentally… I'm afraid the damage is much greater."

Lucius practically slammed the double doors of the Infirmary and his silver eyes quickly scanned the wing. His breath heavy. He hadn't realized he had run the whole way. He saw Severus sitting in the white hospital bed looking out the dreary window. As he noticed a presence in the room he turned towards Lucius.

His dark eyes held no warmth and his skin was sickeningly pale. His crooked nose was red and was encased by bandages. Severus just seemed to stare at Lucius a minute before going right back to the window.

"Lucius. It's still raining," Severus told Lucius as if he didn't know.

Lucius tried glancing over the boy's frame to see if any other marks or injuries were there but other the nose, he seemed fine. He walked to the bed. Dumbledore had told him that a group of Gryffindors had been antagonizing him since the beginning of the year and they finally went too far. Apparently it was something utterly humiliating. Dumbledore didn't feel it necessary to disclose what actually happened.

"I...How are you feeling, Severus?" Lucius asked lamely.

"Snivellus." Severus did not bother to look at him.

"Pardon?"

"That's one of the names that they call me."

"Well, you shouldn't care if others call you names. You're a Slytherin, are you not, Severus? You don't let them get to you and you fight back in any way you know how," Lucius said.

A moment of silence passed between them. The only sound being the constant drip of Lucius's wet robes hitting the floor.

"You're wet."

Lucius rolled his eyes at the boy's observation skills.

"I am aware of that, Severus. And I am not too pleased with it, thank you very much. Dumbledore told me you were in the infirmary and I…" Lucius found himself trailing off. Not finding the right words that would make it seem as if he hadn't ran all the way. "Not to mention I'll have to discard of these pants. I really do like these pants, too."

"'Telling a person his name three times in a conversation means you are emotionally linked for life'," Severus said.

"What?"

Severus looked at Lucius. "It is something my mother said. She was a little strange. She also said that catching a slug during a spring shower and keeping it in your pocket creates a safe bubble. It wards off evil. I was hoping it would also work to force out the evil within the person who the pockets belonged to.

"That's what Potter and Black told me. That I was evil. Being sorted into Slytherin was the worst fate imaginable. 'Words spoken by the enemy are normally true to some extent.' That's another line from my mother."

Lucius crossed his arms and tried his best to keep his prefect aura. "That is jealousy if I have ever heard it. I have been in Slytherin for seven years and I can assure you that there is no house better. Those lion-loving fools wouldn't know what true evil was if it bit them on their arse."

He saw Severus's lips quirk up at that and felt his stomach jump. The black haired boy looked back at the window and Lucius caught his eyes in the window's reflection.

"'Lock eyes with a person in a reflection and you will be eternally soul bound'," Severus murmured as his cheeks turned the faintest tinge of pink.

Lucius looked, as he dripped on the floor, at the young Severus Snape as he battled his demons. "How long will you be here?"

"Overnight at most."

Lucius nodded. "I will be back with your homework." But as he turned to leave, Severus grabbed at his wet robes. Lucius spun around just in time to see Severus grab a quill from the nightstand beside the bed and whisper a few words to transfigure it into a weird contraption that look as if it were to eat him at any moment.

"Here. It's an umbrella. It protects you during the rain."

Lucius hesitantly took hold of the ebony handle of the transfigured item and raised an eyebrow. "Positive you're a first year?"

"One hundred percent," Severus said again in the same serious tone as before.

"Shame."

And with that Lucius swept through the doors.

Severus felt a small smile form on his face as he watched a tall, blonde figure from his window as he crouched down on the ground and went to searching. The rain pouring over him and his umbrella.

He who takes a transfigured umbrella is surely yours for eternity, he heard his mother say in his ear.

Ok. Maybe Severus had just added that one.


End file.
